Movement • This
portrait by Julian Opie called “This
is Fiona” is a digital creation
of computer film on CD-Rom played on
a continuous loop that allows viewers
to observe changing expressions. Julian
Opie
University
Art Museum exhibits portraits of artists
By
Bradley Zint
Daily Forty-Niner
Opinion Editor
The University Art Museum’s current presentation, “Likeness: Portraits
of Artists by Other Artists,” is a varied and fascinating collection.
Whether you’re an art critic, art major or simply curious, there is something
to find within this exhibit that will truly inspire and fascinate you.
A word to the wise: come to the exhibit in a good mood. Some of the artwork
will arouse morbid interpretations that are not likely to brighten your day.
They will, however, reach back to a darker side in all of us, similar to what
Alfred Hitchcock films and Edgar Allan Poe books do for our darkened passions.
One of the largest centerpieces of the exhibit, and one which attracts a great
deal of attention to itself, is the photograph of Felix Partz by AA Bronson.
What makes the photograph so incredibly morose is that Bronson took the picture
a few hours before Partz passed away of AIDS.
The despair in Partz’s eyes as his body slowly decayed due to the disease
is a graphic image you will not forget. It evokes images of Holocaust victim
photographs.
According to Bronson, his intention was “to take [Partz’s] death
and return it to the public.”
Also of interest were cross-hatching sketches, the most notable of which is
Salvador Dali with his infamous twirled moustache. There were also portraits
that resemble Mafiosos — The Sopranos came to mind.
Equally interesting was an ad from Playboy magazine featuring a picture of
Andy Warhol used for target practice. Holes perforate the work, including one
straight through his eye that results in a passively violent but captivating
perspective.
The collection of photographs by Wolfgang Tillmans had a few images, which
clearly stood out in my memory. One was of a vintage-looking suited man looking
over his shoulder toward a mirror that had the image of another suited man
with a subtly twisted demeanor.
The use of black and white photography in this particular photo resonated a
passively supernatural tone, as if the man in the mirror were an alter ego,
Jungian shadow or even a malevolent boss.
Another Tillman photograph of note included an author typing away in a way
she felt most comfortable: naked.
The painting by Edgar Bryan of a forlorn female guitarist was particularly
remarkable due to the expertly portrayed facial features on the guitarist’s
face.
Her eyes seemed to be empty sockets that could no longer see a musically inspirational
world but rather an empty one where the words no longer came and the melodies
no longer sang — depression indeed.
My favorite display utilized both artistic vision and modern technology in
ways I thought were only possible in Disneyland. Julian Opie’s “This
Is Fiona” is a digitally animated portrait of painter Fiona Rae, and
while most of us do not know Rae, we can still get a kick out of watching this
live animation for a few minutes.
I was reminded of the ghostly sculptures with moving faces in Disney’s “The
Haunted Mansion” attraction when the face of Opie’s digital creation
stared back at me and blinked its eyes or adjusted its mouth and eyebrows.
It was modern art on a vivid digital screen.
The “Likeness” exhibit is a presentation of artists representing
other artists, and while most of us not familiar with that social circle will
not recognize who is depicted, there is still much on which to appreciate and
deliberate.
The sinister images may frighten you, the nudity may make you laugh and the
photos of people’s auras, or physical energy, may even make you wonder
just what kind of unseen forces surround you.
The exhibit arouses the full spectrum of emotions in the way good art intends.
I recommend this exhibit for anyone enticed by varied of images and is ready
for an interesting on-campus creative excursion.
“Likeness” will be on exhibit in the University Art Museum through
Oct. 30 and an opening reception will be held Sept. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. |
